Taxpayers to coin £30bn in bank profits after bailout

The sum – enough to fund primary schools for a year – represents a huge turnaround from original predictions that propping up the banks could cost taxpayers up to £850billion.

It will be achieved if equity prices rise in line with predicted economic growth over the next five years, delivering a profit of about £19billion to the taxpayer by 2015, said The Banker magazine.

At least a further £8billion would be due from fees for loans, bond guarantees and the asset protection scheme set up by the Treasury last year to restore confidence in banks which had seemed in danger of failing.

Lloyds paid £2.5billion in fees to join the scheme but did not ultimately participate, while losses at RBS are unlikely to be large enough for the bank to call upon the guarantee of taxpayer money, for which it has so far paid £1.4billion.

Taxpayers are breaking even on their 83 per cent shareholding in Royal Bank of Scotland and 41 per cent of Lloyds TSB, when dividends and other earnings are taken into account.

Receiving a profit from the holdings would not only be a boost for the coalition government but would be hailed by Labour as a vindication of the strategy adopted by former prime minister Gordon Brown and his chancellor Alistair Darling.

‘While the banks remain at fault for decisions that led to some of them needing a rescue package, the UK taxpayer could make a significant profit from bailing out the banks by 2015,’ said Brian Caplen, editor of The Banker.